A Very Different Christmas

I hope all of you are finding ways to make this unusual season "merry and bright!"

As usual, I'd like to share a couple of our traditional decorations.

This is a rubbing of a brass plate, "Adoration of the Shepherds," from around 1500. Brass plates were often mounted on the walls of churches, and the graves of people buried under the church floor were marked with brass figures, representing the deceased. Making rubbings--covering them with paper and rubbing with a crayon--became so popular that the brasses were being damaged. The practice was banned and reproductions were made. One of the wives at our Army base purchased many of them, planning to start a business back home. She held classes on the post and I have several beautiful rubbings. In this one, you can see Mary reclining, Baby Jesus in a manger, a large Joseph watching over them, three shepherds and two animals. Clearly, this artist had not learned about the relatively new technique, perspective.

Wishing you and your loved ones

Christmas Blessings and a Much Improved New Year!

I'll be back on January 6.